


like, "like" like?

by littlescallion



Category: GOT7, Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Actor!Jinyoung, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, M/M, No Funny Business, Weird, age gap, trainee!hyunjin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:26:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26301895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlescallion/pseuds/littlescallion
Summary: there's a certain trainee who shows up to pick jinyoung up after a long day at work. they go out to eat together but surely this is not a date... right?
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin/Park Jinyoung (GOT7)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	like, "like" like?

**Author's Note:**

> so... this is sort of a continuation to my other fic, "crushes" ? the whole story is there but basically - jinyoung is an actor, hyunjin is a trainee (and jinyoung's big fan), and hyunjin was helped by jinyoung once before. i didn't think i'd write a continuation but things happened HAHAHAH. well anyways here's to all my nyeongjin enthusiasts~

When Jinyoung said  _ yes _ back then, this was not the kind of scenario he expected.

He was staying late in the office that day, only because the acting dept manager asked him to oversee the monthly evaluations. There were plenty of new faces to be assessed, not to mention the flurry of more senior trainees. Evaluations went well into the night, and combined with a series of meetings he had to attend since early morning, Jinyoung was simply exhausted. He was ready to return home, dive straight into his soft blankets, and not emerge again until three days later.

Someone else, though, clearly had other plans.

As the barrage of trainees left the practice room within seconds, Jinyoung packed his bag hurriedly. He didn’t need the team leader stopping him for yet another thing he was needed for, most likely something outside his actual job description as an actor. When the team leader peeked back into the room, Jinyoung was more than ready to let out a curse.

Only almost.

“Did you make plans with the entertainment manager?”

“Nope.” Jinyoung replied, almost one second too fast. “Haven’t been in the entertainment department in the past week, haven’t seen anybody from that side of this building. No appointments whatsoever.”

“Strange.” The young woman turned back towards the corridor. “Hey, are you sure it’s actor Park Jinyoung you’re looking for?”

“Yes, ma’am.” A strangely familiar voice answered. “I’m sorry, it’s, uh, sudden. The plan wasn’t made through the manager. It was for, uhhh...”

“... Riiiight .” Jinyoung slid towards the door and cut them off as soon as he recognized the voice. “I remember just now. JUS2 are trying their hands on producing for a drama OST again, they wanted my input. Sorry, my schedule had been packed and my phone was dead, it must've slipped my mind. Have you been waiting long,  Hyunjin ?”

Jinyoung could see the relief in the younger’s face as soon as their eyes met. “Not at all,  sunbae-nim .”  Hyunjin smiled sweetly. “I arrived here just as others were leaving.”

“That’s good. Let’s hurry up then.”

Hyunjin bowed one more time towards the team leader before rushing forward, leading the way. Jinyoung raised a brow when he ran towards the restrooms instead of going for the elevator.  _ Is he going to leave me here after having me lie to the team leader like that? _

Except that wasn’t the case.  Hyunjin emerged from the restroom a few seconds later, a bouquet of pink roses in hand.

“I had to hide it just in case somebody sees it and starts asking questions.” He blushed a little as he raised the bouquet. “Uhh - I also don’t know much about flowers so I got this to match the new perfume you’re modeling for...?”

Taking the roses from the other’s hand, Jinyoung couldn’t help but to smile. “You should’ve left the thorns unclipped, then.”

“No way. You might get hurt.”  Hyunjin pouted.

Looking at his expression, Jinyoung’s smile turned into a laughter. He marveled at how  Hyunjin’s face could look so sharp and yet so soft at the same time. It was fascinating, and Jinyoung had to consciously stop himself from staring at the boy one second too long.

“Alright, so... what is this all about then? Coming to see me after work and giving me flowers?”

“Well, you told me I could invite you to have a drink sometimes.”  Hyunjin’s eyes were twinkling. “That's what I’m doing.”

“Right now? Really?” Jinyoung laughed. 

Hyunjin nodded enthusiastically. “Unless you’re tired and would rather go straight home, of course.” He quickly added.

“Nah, some food sounds perfect right now. Could’ve given me a warning beforehand, though.”

Hyunjin grimaced, thinking about the near miss. “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry. Wait, what if they cross checked with JUS2?? They’ll find out you weren’t saying the truth and then they’ll ask questions and we’ll be busted and  Jaebeom sunbaenim will get mad that we used their name--”

“Relax, you sound like you weren’t breathing.” Jinyoung chuckled. “Beom  hyung’s chill. A quick text is probably enough to get him on board. If you really want his over-the-top support though, you can throw in a certain phone number in there. New trainee, ex background dancer, likes cats?”

“Minho  hyung’s ? Yeah, that’s easy. I have his number.”  Hyunjin sighed in relief. “Wow, never thought Minho hyung would catch Jaebeom sunbaenim’s eyes...”

“Nah, it’s actually really obvious if you know Jaebeom. That guy already has cats. With just the right amount of weird, he'd be perfect for Jaebeom.”

“I’m not sure if Minho  hyung’s amount of weird is right for anyone but if  Jaebeom sunbaenim swings that way...”  Hyunjin trailed off jokingly, and Jinyoung responded with a chuckle.

The two shared laughter as they stepped out into the cool night air. It was the middle of spring and the outside was pleasantly breezy, a much welcome change from the stuffy studios.  Hyunjin led him to a food stall by the Han River, with enough patron for them to comfortably blend in but also empty enough for some privacy and silence. Jinyoung liked the way the scent of food wafted and lingered in the air. It reminded him of freedom and his early days, where he would often run off alone.

“Is this place okay for you?”  Hyunjin’s question quickly brought Jinyoung back. The younger male was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “I’d like to take you to a fancier place but I’m still a trainee... those occasional performances don’t pay much.”

“Of course, it’s fine.” Jinyoung replied. “I was just feeling nostalgic. This is the exact kind of place I would go to whenever I feel stressed back in the day. I just haven’t had any chance to return lately.”

“Your schedule does seem too packed lately.” Hyunjin commented with a slight undertone of worry in his voice. “Please don't forget to take care of yourself,  sunbaenim . You can’t let yourself burn out.”

Jinyoung’s airy laugh colored the atmosphere between them. It's been a while since the last time somebody directly expressed worry about his wellbeing, and it felt good. He imagined that it would feel a little awkward to have a younger guy, a junior in his company, care for him in this way – but it wasn’t at all. It just felt nice.

“I think it’s about time you stop calling me sunbaenim. Just call me Jinyoung-hyung from now on.” He smiled at the younger. “Anyway, thanks. The same goes for you. Remember – we’re only here because I caught you trying to dance after spraining your ankle last time.”

That made  Hyunjin laugh, and Jinyoung just noticed the way whiskers appeared around his eyes when he smiled.  It looked adorable, sort of similar to his own. 

_ Hold up one second. _

_ Adorable? _

All of a sudden, Jinyoung felt wrong. He remembered when he met Hyunjin for the first time, the younger was looking at him with stars in his eyes. A ton of admiration, but nothing more than the way a fan would look at his idol. He knew that Hyunjin liked him since day one – it wasn’t like the younger ever tried to hide it anyway. If anything, he had been vocal about it. But Jinyoung was only Hyunjin’s celebrity crush. And it’s different from an actual crush.

He quickly shook his head from embarrassment. How could he be thinking of Hyunjin as anything other than a junior at the same company, who just happened to be a fan? Also, dude was a whole six years younger than Jinyoung, for fuck’s sake. Predatory or not, it wasn’t supposed to happen. This kind of power play was wrong in so many levels.

“Are you okay, hyung?”

Hyunjin's voice – and look of worry – was what brought Jinyoung back to his senses. He quickly smiled, the bright actor’s smile. But even his best trained smile didn’t manage to mask his split second of sadness. Because Hyunjin returned the smile and reached out to hold Jinyoung’s hand, squeezing softly. 

“You’re doing great. If you’re tired, work can always wait. I'm here for you, okay? I might not be very good at giving advices but at least I can listen.” Hyunjin smiled. At that moment, he seemed a lot more mature than Jinyoung thought he was. Jinyoung could only hope that all of those trainings and shootings prepared him enough to keep his face from blushing.

“Why are you saying these? It’s supposed to be my lines. You know, being a senior in the industry and all.” Jinyoung chuckled. 

“Well, I guess junior trainees probably haven’t developed the work ethics yet, so we're so much better at resting and having fun.” Hyunjin’s grin was bright, so contagious but at the same time so difficult to handle. For Jinyoung, at least. His ears couldn’t handle all the blood rushing there.

And he froze when he noticed the feeling around his hand. Hyunjin's hand was still there, playing with his fingertips. 

“Wanna know something else about junior trainees,  hyung ? We are basically kids... so on top of lacking discipline, we are also very reckless.”

“In what way?” Jinyoung’s response came out as a choked question.  _ Relax, Jinyoung. Think of it as filming a drama scene. _

“A lot, I guess? The easiest example would be flirting. And dating behind the company’s back.”

_ Why is he saying all this... to me? _

“Yeah, uh, I can imagine. Surrounded by all those cute girls and boys, it’s a load of bull to believe nobody dated, right?”

“Yes... also, there is one trainee who figured out that he’d be training at the company where his first love works... and recklessly tries to take his first love on a date.”

Jinyoung blinked at Hyunjin’s odd choice of words. “Well... celebrity crushes made people do stupid things...”

“No, not a celebrity crush. Not even just a puppy crush.” Hyunjin was still holding his hand, and staring warmly at him during the entire conversation.

“It’s reckless to say this when we don’t even know each other that well yet... but I really like you, Jinyoung hyung. As in,  _ like _ like.”

_ Wait. _

_ What? _

**Author's Note:**

> i considered jaebeom/felix or jaebeom/seungmin before this but the weirder the better amirite guys


End file.
